


Quantumtale

by Coloured_Rainbow



Category: Quantum Break (Video Game), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:17:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6842296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coloured_Rainbow/pseuds/Coloured_Rainbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The number one killer is time. It destroys us all. This is what you need to know, kid: time broke. A growing Fracture, leading to the End of Time. We went after a device that could fix it. Things turned ugly. Gaster was there to stop us. He has… super powers.”<br/>“Sans-”<br/>“Him and me both...we failed.<br/>“Sans-”<br/>“Of course, time travel was involved.”<br/>“Sans!”<br/>“Goin’ to fast for ya? Okay. What do you want me to cover first. You tell me.”<br/>“Let’s start at the beginning. When you first arrived at the Lab.”<br/>“Heh… right.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1 Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> **SPOILERS FOR BOTH UNDERTALE AND QUANTUM BREAK**  
> I have no idea if I am going to finish this, so no promises! Its really long and hard to write, so if you DO want me to continue, please suggest ideas! I'll try my best, but it could be a while.  
> I know it stays pretty close to Quantum Break now, but it will veer off as the story goes along.
> 
> Thank you for reading! :3
> 
> EDIT: Wow, its a long time later *coughcough7monthscough* buuuut, I plan on working on a chapter! I will be editing the old one bc there are some sUPER minor *couch* plot holes that need to be fixed, so I'd recommend rereading this chapter before the new one comes out ((whenever that may be....))  
> Again, please submit any ideas you have for the next chapter if you can ;-; byyyee

“The number one killer is time. It destroys us all. This is what you need to know, kid: time broke. A growing Fracture, leading to the End of Time. We went after a device that could fix it. Things turned ugly. Gaster was there to stop us. He has… super powers.”

“Sans-”

“Him and me both...we failed.

“Sans-”

“Of course, time travel was involved.”

“Sans!”

“Goin’ too fast for ya? Okay. What do you want me to cover first. You tell me.”

“Let’s start at the beginning. When you first arrived at the Lab.”

“Heh… right.”

 

ACT 1 PART 1

**The Lab Experiment**

_Sans_

 

Sans sleepily nodded as he swayed back and forth on the river person's boat.

W. D. Gaster had called him over to the lab at four in the morning, not that the time really bothered him. He hardly slept anyways. Gaster wanted to show him what he’d been working on. Alphys, one of Gaster’s main assistants, was also involved. Gaster said it was ‘world-changing’.

He was right.

Sans bolted awake as the river person abruptly stopped the boat, nearly running into a passing fish monster.

“C’mon!” They screamed, almost dropping their protest poster into the water. It read ‘down with Quasar’ and had pictures of skulls drawn on it. “Watch where you’re going, man. Fuck off!”

“Tra la la. No need to yell,” the river person calmly cooed.

They trudged off through the water angrily.

Sans awkwardly chuckled and watched them leave.

The river person continued on their way, stopping at the entrance to Hotland.

“Tra la la. Come back again sometime,” they sang.

“Right… thanks, bud.” Sans stepped off, waving goodbye.

He hadn’t been to this part of Hotland for six years. Sans hadn’t made any contact with Gaster and didn't let Papyrus go near him. He felt uneasy about this whole situation, but he thought maybe he had changed. He’d been pretty mad when Gaster first called, saying he’d had some nerve to try to contact them again, but he said he’d made groundbreaking discoveries that he needed to see.

He knew this might be a huge mistake, but Papyrus was always talking about how anyone can be a good person if they try. Maybe Gaster was trying.

And maybe he wasn’t.

He saw people set up just outside the lab with posters for a protest against Quasar.

At the time, Quasar was a company put together by Gaster who worked on projects for the king. Unfortunately for them, communities all over the underground disagreed with what they were doing; setting up workshops; not telling the public about latest inventions; being secretive. Sans was one of the many people who hated his company. Not that he let Gaster know that.

“Hey, Sans!” A young monster made of green flames dressed us in a school uniform shouted his way.

“Heya, kid,” he nodded his head and smiled, making her giggle. Everybody adored Sans; the grownups befriending him; the young boys looking up to him; and the young girls swooning over his terrible puns and deep voice.

Sans walked past her, entering the Lab.

He’d made a pretty big decision, coming all that way and choosing to see Gaster again just for a research project. Reading between the lines, Gaster was under a lot of pressure. Sans considered what Papyrus said about change and decided that maybe Gaster just needed a friend. He wanted to help him.

Sans smiled as he stepped inside, letting out a soft chuckle as the automatic front door sealed behind him.

“Son of a bitch.” Sans looked around the Lab, taking in the old familiar smell and marveling at the same old piece of crap computers and equipment lying around. Although some bad things happened there, Sans couldn’t help but feel a giddy sense of nostalgia.

“Sans, in the flesh!” A familiar, smart voice rang from behind him.

Sans turned around to see him, standing there. He was tall and slender, wearing a nerdy white turtleneck and high waisted slacks. He had wire glasses and a big grin on his skeletal face.

He and Sans had left off on weird terms. Previously, Gaster had been experimenting on Sans and Papyrus to find ways to bring back their deceased mother. This went on for a while before Gaster tried and failed to repent and gain their forgiveness. He felt terrible for everything he had done, just wanting to go back to normal. While in this weak state, Sans decided it a good time to take Papyrus and flee to Snowdin.

Even though Sans could never truly forgive him for what he did, he could at least try to make amends. After all, he did feel sort of relieved to see him again.

“Or should I say, in the bone.” Gaster winked, making him chuckle.

“The esteemed Dr. W.D. Gaster,” Sans approached him, going in for a handshake.

Gaster, instead, took him in for a hug.

“Welcome home,” this interaction made Sans really uncomfortable, but also really relaxed at the same time.

Sans waited until Gaster pulled back. They both looked at each other, laughing and shaking their heads in disbelief.

“Six years,” Gaster seemed astonished. “I was starting to think you’d never come back.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said in all honesty. He truly thought he would never have to see the inside of this lab ever again.

Gaster patted Sans’ arm, scoffing.

“Come on,” he said, heading further into the building. “This way. We’re heading through a passageway straight to the project.”

Sans was grateful for him not bringing up what happened. As good as an apology might seem, it was the last thing Sans wanted at the moment.

“So, how’s life going for you?”

“It’s going,” Sans shoved his hands into his pockets and followed close behind.

“Heh, right.” They went underground, going down some concrete stairs into a purple corridor.

“Hey, uh, when you have this thing built?”

“Just a few years ago. The machine's not long from here, but I figured it’d be easier to have direct passage.”

“Yeah…” Sans looked around and spotted many doors splitting off down the hallway. “You sure expanded the place, huh?”

“Yes. We have lots of new installments,” Gaster explained. “It just felt too small in here. I needed much more room than I had. And you know how I hoard things.”

“Heh, yeah…” Sans craned his neck to look up at the ceiling.

“So,” Sans could tell he really hesitated about what he wanted to ask next. “Might I ask how… Papyrus has been?”

“Yeah, you can ask.” He said bitterly. They walked in silence for a while. “He’s been fine.” He reassured him. “Just as optimistic as ever. Might get into the Royal Guard fairly soon.”

Gaster brightened up.

“That sounds splendid,” he grinned.

“So,” Sans changed the subject. “There’s more to this than you’re letting on. What’s it all about?”

“Sans, look,” Gaster anxiously rubbed his hands together. “I’ve been tight lipped about this for a reason; this project we’ve been working on… Is going to change the entire world.”

“Why do I feel a long-ass presentation coming up?” Sans raised an eyebrow.

“I would never,” Gaster joked as he walked up a flight of stairs. They walked into a room with black tile floors and rows of fold-up chairs. In front of them was a white screen with a image being projected onto it. It said ‘QUASAR. To the Core and back’.

“Oh look,” Gaster faked innocence. “A conveniently placed presentation. Now, who put that there?”

“Oh, shocking,” Sans rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay, enough joking,” Gaster continued on. “It’s over this way.”

As they walked to the end of the room, Sans thought back to the screen.

“What's this hafta do with that core?” He questioned.

“You’re about to find out.” Gaster smirked.

“Right,” Sans hummed accusingly.

“Come one, Sans,” Gaster excitedly tapped a password into a number pad to open a glass door. “I’m about to blow your mind.”

“I’d be worried if I had one,” Sans teased as he followed him. “Let’s get to the big show, shall we?” Gaster pushed the ‘enter’ button on the pad, the door automatically hissing open.

“You haven’t changed at all,” Gaster observed.

“Nope,” he shrugged.

Through the glass door led to a bigger blue door. Gaster twisted the huge handle, heaving the door open. Sans went through, lead to another flight of metal stairs.

“Although when referring to the Core, most people think of this whole building,” Gaster gestured around the room. “There’s really a machine in the midst of it all that it specifically should refer to. The actual Core.” He started down the stairs, yelling up to him.

Gaster flipped a switch, turning on lights all around the room revealing a huge machine. It was placed in the middle of the room that went down like a huge crater. The machine was fairly big, but not overly. The ground on which they walked spiraled around the machine, allowing them to see it from all sides.

More lights came on like big solar-panels, making Sans shield his eyes from the light.

“Oh shit,” Sans mumbled. “You guys must have some budget.” He marveled at the whole of it all, very professional and updated. He was surprised to see nice, new equipment and expensive devices all over. He walked up to the railing that stopped people from falling the 50 or so feet to the bottom of the machine. “What is all this?”

“The future, Sans,” Gaster continued around the stairs that curled around the room. “Project Chiridion: The Core. You’re looking at the biggest discovery of our time.”

“Its impressive, but why you need me? Alphys is your assistant.”

“There’s a reason we’re doing this at four am, Sans.” He chuckled. “I need someone I can trust. Not some socially-inept dinosaur.”

“Hey,” Sans ran to catch up to him. “Alphys is a good kid. She’s real smart.”

“I suppose so. Wait just a minute, I need to get something from my desk.” They both walked through a glass door letting it shut on its own once they were through.

Sans spotted a picture of him and his brother on top of Gaster’s things, picking it up and inspecting it.

“Although I will admit she is quite intelligent, she wouldn’t listen to reason anymore.” Gaster said as he rummaged through his things. “She overreacted. Scared off the investors, ranting about miscalculations, dangers… all with no evidence.”

Sans made a skeptical face, setting the picture back down.

“It works, I assure you,” he sounded defensive. “But they’re going to cut our funding if I don’t prove it.” Gaster squatted down, plugging in some wires and flipping switches. Around his desk, televisions and monitors flashed on, sending images of graphs, tables, and diagrams of the inside of the Core.

Gaster continued on, not bothering to look at them. Sans went to follow before his eye caught on a letter Gaster had been typing.

Sans leaned in close to read it. It was a reply to a person he didn’t recognize.

We absolutely can not afford to lose momentum at this point. If we put Project Chiridion on hold then we will lose every chronon specialist on staff overnight. Stellar is offering double what we are. It would be an absolute nightmare. Our staff is irreplaceable and I’m struggling to hold on to them as it is.

I’ve known her since childhood, there’s no doubt she’s a genius, but she also has a history of paranoia and mental instability. She’s lost sight of the big picture. Her concerns regarding Project Chiridion are outlandish, unfounded, and based on ludicrous conjecture.

“Sans. Come on,” Gaster called, making Sans tear his eyes away from the screen. This was all really suspicious. At least if he was here, maybe he could prevent anything from going wrong.

“Right,” Sans jogged over beside him.

“Sans,” his tone became grim. “You know asking for help is not easy for me. I am in much trouble. For you see, the tests I have to run here are not exactly… “legal”. You are the only one I can trust to help me with this.” Though they didn’t really have a government system down there or cops or anything like that, Sans knew what he meant: no one could know about this.

Whatever was going on here was not good, but Sans knew he couldn’t leave. He would act cool now, and fix it later on. He put on a smile.

“‘Course.”

Gaster smiled back.

“It’s already essentially set up,” he said as he walked over to another see-through door. “Anyone can do it, but you’re the one I want to do this with.” It slid open and he slowly walked through. “Sans. Thank you. I knew I could count on you.”

“Right…” They walked over in front of a panel that lead to inside the Core. Across from it was a poster explaining some things.

“Corridor schematics, huh?” Sans said, interested.

“Yes. Travel clockwise leads to a forward progression in time. Counter-clockwise, travel backwards.”

“So,” Sans’ said cockily. “It’s like you’ve invented… a clock.”

“Yes. Years ahead of our time.” Gaster walked over to a computer, leaning over to use to the mouse. “I need you to push the lever over their labeled “chronon conduit”. That’ll activate the Core. I’m going to run diagnostics and make sure it remains stable.”

Sans hesitated before listening. This couldn’t just be a simple clock. He was messing with something he shouldn’t be.

Regardless, Sans wrapped his bony fingers around the switch and slowly pulled it up. The monitors on the screens started interacting with his movements; the bars went up and down; numbers on the tables continuously changing. He heard a big bang come from the direction of the Core, making him flinch.

On top of the Core, big red pole-like objects shifted, expanding the machine.

“That’s just the chronon conduit initiating,” Gaster explained.

Sans looked from Gaster back to the Core. He waited a minute before continuing with the switch.

As he did, there was a low pitched whine, slowly getting higher.

“Are you sure it’s s’posed to do that?” Sans yelled over the noise as he pushed the lever to its extent.

The pitch lowered again, going down in volume, leaving just a low hum.

The air around the Core reflected on itself, swirling and warping that around it.

“What the hell?” Sans backed away from the lever. As he did he could see a corrupted version of himself staring back at him, looping around as he moved.

“The figures are all stable,” Gaster gave a crooked grin. “The Core replicates the effects of a rotating micro black hole, so activating it can be a bit… intense.”

Sans looked at Gaster, his eyes just white pinpricks in his eye sockets.

“A black hole?” he followed him as he walked over to another set of panels. “What exactly are we testing here?”

“You’re about to find out. This way. We’ve got to raise the corridor.”

Gaster had raised some hell in the past. Sans could tell this as different. But he still didn’t understand how massive and far reaching the consequence for this would be. How could he? Sans knew Gaster well enough to tell even though he played it cool, he was nervous too.

They walked back from where they came, over to more panels.

“This is happening,” Gaster shook his head in disbelief. “We’re really doing this, Sans.” He held out his skeletal hand, offering him a key. “Here. Take this. You’ll need this key to active the corridor.” Sans stiffly took it, walking over to two identical pedestals with holes for the keys and screens on the top of them.

Sans put the key in.

“We need to turn the keys at the same time to active. Security precautions. Ready?”

Sans heavily thought about this in just a few seconds. What should he do?

“Three…” Gaster counted. “Two… one… go!”

Sans reluctantly turned the key and the screens lit up, flashing green.

The stairs that wrapped around the room started to lift themselves up, barricading the Core.

“What the hell?!” Sans backed up.

“That’s the corridor,” he explained. “The passenger enters one end, travels around the loop, exits the other and arrives at the predetermined time in the physical location where the machine is situated in that time.” Sans could barely make out his words over the noise.

“Passenger…” Sans mumbled. “Hold the phone. Wait. The corridor is for…” Something clicked. “You’re actually getting inside that thing. In the machine, through time.”

Gaster walked toward the Core’s entrance.

“You made a fucking time machine,” Sans ran after him.

“I’m going to be the first, Sans,” he chirped excitedly. “And you’re my witness.”

“Gaster,” Sans scoffed. “This is crazy. This can’t be safe! What happens when-”

“Our team has already proved it works in the trial phase,” Gaster interrupted. “It is ready. We passed every test, every inspection.” He began to type on a computer next to the entrance. “We’re going to make history, Sans. And all you have to do,” he backed up, gesturing him to come over. “Is hit that switch.”

The screen read “DESTINATION: -2 MINUTES TO THE PAST”.

“You’re fucking insane,” Sans started to walk off when he was suddenly surrounded by blue magic that lifted him back over to him.

“I might be, Sans. But you have to help me.” Something in his voice signalled he didn’t have a choice. Gaster let him go, walking closer to the entrance. Sans approached the computer, laying eyes on a red button that had white arrows painted on the top going clockwise.

Sans laughed and shook his head.

“Two minutes to the fucking past…” He jammed the button down with all his might, opening a door leading inside to the Core. Sans walked closer to Gaster as he went to walk inside.

“Remember this moment,” Gaster walked over to the entrance but was stopped by some else walking out.

There stood another Gaster, identical to the first. He stepped out mirroring the same surprised look as his clone. They both laughed, not believing what they were seeing.

Sans breathing became heavy as he stepped closer to them.

“Gaster! What… how…” Sans lifted his hands to his head, trying to steady himself. “You haven’t stepped into the damn thing, yet!”

“It’s fine!” They said in unison.

Sans dropped one hand to his side and caressed the back of his skull with the other.

“Stay calm, Sans,” The original Gaster said.

“Stay calm,” Sans laughed. "There’s-there’s two of you! You just fucking multiplied!”

“This is exactly what was supposed to happen,” he continued, gesturing in amazement to his future self. “That’s- he’s- he’s me! A future version of me, from-”

“Two minutes in the future,” future Gaster finished.

Gaster burst out laughing.

Future Gaster grabbed Gaster by both the shoulders, shaking him.

“We did it!”

“Incredible,” Gaster looked over to Sans who stood there, speechless. “Just imagine the implications, Sans. We could warn people about disasters before they happen-”

“Cure diseases before they spread,” they said at the same time.

“I just had this conversation,” Future Gaster snickered. “Just as good a second time.”

“Fucking hell,” Sans shook his head once more, stepping closer.

“Now you must go in the machine,” he instructed Gaster. “You need to complete the cycle.”

“Of course,” Gaster giddily nodded. “As I assumed.”

“Wait, Gaster, what are you doing?” Sans watched him get into the machine.

“It’s all a big loop, Sans,” Future Gaster explained as Gaster got inside, sealing the door behind him. “I need to enter the machine and travel back to the moment I exited the machine in order to, well… be here.”

“And what if you don’t?”

“There is no “what if”.” He waved his hands around. “I’m here. It already happened.”

Sans swallowed hard, trying to wrap his mind around the complexity of it all.

“You saw it, Sans. We did it.”

“Gaster, that’s impossible.” Sans slurred. “It’s literally impossible. You can’t just… It doesn’t even…”

“There’s no time to stop now. We need to test the other direction,” he pointed to the panel Sans activated before. “Set the machine for five minutes to the future.”

“Gaster! This is nuts!”

“Sans! We can’t stop now! We’ve made a breakthrough! Do it, Sans, or I’ll make you. After this, you’ll understand.” Once again, he lifted Sans up with his magic, moving him over to the screen.  
Sans unwillingly set the computer for five minutes ahead, opening the door. His Gaster was long gone.

Gaster stepped into the machine, allowing himself to be closed inside.

“What are you doing?” A high pitched voice rang through the Lab, easily heard over the low humming. “Sans?”

“Papyrus.” Sans relaxed somewhat. “Bro, what are you doing here?”

“She was right,” he whispered, but soon raised his voice. “Y-you can’t do this! This must be stopped!” Papyrus shakily materialized a bone.

“No,” Gaster put his hands on the glass. “No, Sans, stop him! He could damage the Core!”

“B-be quiet!” Papyrus stomped a foot, aiming the attack at the machine.

“Wait,” Sans tried to calm him down. “We can’t shut it down, Gaster’s still in there.”

“Sans! Sans stop him-”

“Be quiet, be quiet!” Papyrus raised the attack higher.

“Look at me!” Sans put his hands up. “Put the bone down. C’mon, bro. We can talk, okay?”

“No, there’s no time!” Papyrus rammed his shoulder into Sans, nearly knocking him over. Sans regained balance, pushing him back.

“You’re not thinking straight. Put the attack down!” Papyrus raised the bone above Sans, threatening him. Sans looked hurt. “Fuckin' hell, Papyrus.”

Papyrus looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. He shook his head and exhaled.

“Time. Is going. To end!” he screeched, making Sans take a step back. He choked on his words. “Sans. You have to trust me.”

“Or what?” They looked at each other for a moment in silence.

Rambunctious chaos suddenly burst out into the air as the mirrored air around the Core sucked in, imploding on itself, tumbling down.

As soon as Sans looked the other direction, Papyrus summoned another bone, throwing the first one right past Sans’ head. He ducked, falling to the floor, and Papyrus stepped over him, heading to the machine’s opening.

“Stop him!’ Gaster pounded on the glass.

“No,” Sans wobbly rose to his feet. “You gotta get outta there.” Sans bolted over to the machines opening, ignoring Papyrus. But before he could get there, there was another loud whine that blasted through Sans ears like a bullet. There was a fluorescent blue flash that knocked Sans back to the ground with a clack. Light beamed forward from the entrance, engulfing Sans’ body. He let out a cry, trying to stay on all fours.

Golden strings of light sped past Sans, distorting the air around him.

His body ripped itself apart, deconstructing and reconstructing, resulting in glitched motions. There seemed to be a lag in space time. Parts of his body detached themselves, wavering, and coming back.

He looked up at the machine.

“Gaster!”

Papyrus ran over to the computers on Gaster’s desk, frantically typing things in, but it was too late. Alarms rang out, locking down the screens.

“No…”

The Core sucked into itself, then blew outward in a burst of energy. Sans smacked into the far wall with a sickening crack as light and power flooded the room. Papyrus screamed in terror, not completely knowing what to expect next.

The screen by the entrance blinked and changed, now reading “DESTINATION: ERROR”.

Sans shouted his brother’s name, trying to force against the energy.

Then everything went black.

 

 

 

Sans groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, rolling onto his side. He was lying on his back on the cold floor, shaking violently. He grunted as he gradually peeled himself off the floor, cringing as his head pounded.

He stood up onto his feet the same time as Gaster did inside the machine.

“You… alright?” Sans wobbled to the side, nearly falling back down.

“I think so,” he looked around. “I’ll find a away out. Go make sure Papyrus is okay.”

“Y-yeah,” he pushed on his eye sockets with his hard palms. “Yeah, okay.”

He turned around, shocked at was they had done to the universe.

Objects all around him hung in mid-air, glitching and warping just as his body was doing however long ago. They seemed to be in one place and everywhere all at once.

Sans took a moment before deciding to head forward.

He lifted a foot and put it in front of him, sending distorted ripples across the ground. The ground spiked and lifted, breaking itself apart, making strange warbling noises.

“What the…?” Papyrus’ words echoed in Sans’ mind: time is going to end.

Sans turned back around.

“What the fuck is this?” His voice was strained and dry.

“This shouldn’t be happening!” Gaster’s voice was muffled as he walked further away. “The numbers were stable, it should’ve worked, Sans!”

“We broke time,” he said. He rubbed his temples, walking over to where Papyrus headed.

The gnarled floor shifted underneath him, making it seem he was falling the entire time. Particles shot through the air, trying to travel and failing. The universe tried to pull it to the ground as time held it still, ripping the objects apart.

“This is crazy,” Sans hugged himself, holding on tight.

He went through a glass door and saw Papyrus falling mid-air. His scream froze in the air, ringing on and on yet not playing.

“Bro,” he ran up to him, grabbing him by the arm and shaking him. “Bro, c’mon.” Papyrus stared blankly forward, a horrified look plastered on his face. “Bro. Bro! Wake up!” He pulled on him with all his might. “Papyrus!”

His scream got louder and he fell out of time, resuming from where he left off. Sans started time in his general area.

“Sans…” Papyrus looked at him with wide eyes, hunched over on the floor.

“Hey, bro.”

“Zero state,” Papyrus swerved around to look at the machine as he stood up to his feet. “What have we done…? Oh Sans, this is terrible!”

“Bro-”

“She warned me,” he intervened. “Sans. Oh, I knew I should’ve listened! I-I told Gaster before, he-he wouldn’t listen. This n-never would’ve happened, if…” He sighed.

“Sans!” Gaster was fiddling with the door of the machine. “Sans, the airlock is stuck. I can’t get out!”

Sans looked back at Papyrus as he paced back and forth; he looked okay. Sans ran back over to Gaster, trying to open the door.

He grabbed the handle that ran across it and pushed off the back with his foot.  
“It’s jammed!” He whimpered.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen! The figures all-” he was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.

“The stutter- it collapsed!” Papyrus squawked as he ran toward them.

Just then, in came tens of monsters, all bearing weapons.

“What the hell?!” Sans looked at Gaster.

“Stellar…”

“What?”

“They’re an organization whose been after me from the beginning.”

“And you failed to mention that, why?!”

Bam bam bam!

Bullets flew through the air, nearly hitting Sans.

“Sans!” Papyrus crouched down.

“What the fuck?!”

“They have guns!” Gaster hit the glass in frustration.

“What does that mean?!” Sans ducked behind the entrance.

“They are a human weapon!” Gaster leaned, looking at the monsters piling in. “There’s no other way out. I’m going through the machine!”

“Gaster, wait. No! You can’t just-” Gaster turned the corner, heading further inside.

“Sans!” Papyrus waved his arms frantically. “This way! Sans!”

“Traveler has exited,” said one of Stellar’s men. “Don’t let the skeleton brothers escape!”

"I can take 'em," Sans said, getting in a fighting stance.

Papyrus turned around, wide eyed. "NO SANS DON'T-" Blue flames burst about the room, out of control. Sans shrieked in pain. The fire sucked in on itself, balling up inside of Sans like a bomb. "The stutters affect your magic!" Papyrus ran up next to Sans, scooping him up and running.

“P-please be okay... we'll go down the hatch I came through, then I'll take a look at you. ” Papyrus ran over to a trap door in the ground, climbing down a ladder.

Papyrus didn't want to leave Gaster, but he had no choice. He needed to get out of there, and quick.

He leaped down a hatch on the floor, taking one last look at the approaching soldiers before closing the lid tight behind him.


	2. Act 1 Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you okay?” Papyrus said, prodding Sans for any wounds.  
> Sans looked down at himself, his hands starting to warp and shift as he moved them around, making him and Papyrus both gape at them.  
> “O-oh gosh….” Papyrus whispered, careful not to touch him. “I-It must be from the exposure to the stutters…”  
> Sans looked up at him questionably. “Stutters? Ok,” he breathed, “how the hell do you know about all of this?” Papyrus looked away guiltily.  
> “That’s… a very long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, here's another chapter almost a year later ;-;  
> I didn't think I'd ever continue this, but I finally found some inspiration from some people who liked the story. it just goes to show, that a little support can go a long way.
> 
> This isn't nearly as long as the first one, but as you can tell, things are branching off and I have to make up the plot now ;3; We'll see how that goes
> 
> Thank you for the support! Let me know if you want to see more!

ACT 1 PART 2

**The Lab Experiment**

_Sans_

 

Papyrus quickly ran down the hallway, holding Sans tightly in his embrace. He just kept running, only stopping once he found a suitable place where he could heal Sans if needed and where they were well hidden.

Papyrus shimmied into the space between the walls through a big air vent, setting him on the floor so he could properly close it just in time to keep them out of sight from patrolling monsters.

“Are you okay?” Papyrus said, prodding Sans for any wounds.

Sans looked down at himself, his hands starting to warp and shift as he moved them around, making him and Papyrus both gape at them.

“O-oh gosh….” Papyrus whispered, careful not to touch him. “I-It must be from the exposure to the stutters…” 

Sans looked up at him questionably. “Stutters? Ok,” he breathed, “how the hell do you know about all of this?” Papyrus looked away guiltily. 

“That’s… a very long story.”

“Well, I mean,” Sans chuckled. “Whenever I talk about this shit, you have no idea what I’m talkin’ sayin’, and now suddenly, what, you’re a scientist?”

“I…” Papyrus sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what you even have to be sorry about!”

“I… I was working with Gaster.” Papyrus mumbled, glancing behind him through the metal grate to check for Stellar. 

“What.”

“I-It’s far too long of a story!” Papyrus harshly whispered. “I can tell you later, brother. But for now, we need to get you out of here! And, please,” he talked softly, placing a hand on Sans’ shoulder, “don’t use your magic. It will only complicate things. Monster magic doesn’t exactly mix well with time.”

“Wait, I have to hear this.”

“Did you not just hear what I said??” Papyrus stopped mid-sentence at the sound of heavy footsteps stomping in time on the metal floor. He nodded the side, standing up and starting to walk silently through the space between walls.

Sans looked down at his hands one more time before slowly standing up and following him.

“So,” Sans whispered nearly inaudibly. “You knew about these Stellar guys?”

“Well,” Papyrus whispered back. “Gaster had mentioned them, but never gave much detail, unfortunately. All I know is that they come from the Capital. And they don’t agree with… anything Gaster has in mind.”

“Great,” Sans scoffed, rolling his eyes. “So. You’ve been in kahoots with the old man the whole time?” When Papyrus didn’t reply, he took that as his cue to continue. “Every time I said ya couldn’t go back. Every time you said you didn’t want to. Bro, I told you so many times, he doesn’t--”

“Sans,” Papyrus snapped. “I am not the child you seem to think I am! I understand you care, but I am capable of making my own, adult decisions!”

“Really? ‘Cause look where your _brilliant_ decision-making skills have us now,” Sans snarled, looking away from him.

Papyrus let out a sad sigh, looking to his right. “There’s a vent into the other room just up here.” 

As they started to get out, once Papyrus moved the metal vent, Sans watched as he stepped out of the crawlspace. He started to get out himself and as he touched the wall to balance himself, he could see it warble and mix with the particles melting off of his hand.

He gulped down any panic that resonated inside of him, stepping out completely. Papyrus put the vent back in place, looking around for a place to go next.

“Okay,” Papyrus decided. “We’ll get to my car and down to my lab at the school in the Capital. There’s a safe-room with my research there.”

“Lab,” Sans asked hysterically. “Goddamn, you really followed in his steps, huh?”

“It’s not like that…” 

“Than what _is_ it like?”

Papyrus started to cautiously walk forward, signalling Sans to follow. “I was trying to stop him.”

“Right.”

“I was!” Papyrus whispered defensively. “I… I spent _months_ working on a device…” He looked down. “I… I couldn’t do it. As much as I studied and read, I couldn’t… I never understood it.” He looked at Sans, still walking. “Not like you did.”

Sans eyes widened.

Papyrus sighed, looking back ahead of him. “Gaster always knew you were… better.”

“No way, bro,” Sans said, suddenly more empathetic. “You were always the smarter one…”

Papyrus smirked. “I was pretty great.”

“Yeah. The old man’s crazy.”

“Well, no matter how great I was, he always seemed to talk about you. About how he wanted you to help him.” Papyrus looked around the corner, taking a turn. “That’s when I started questioning him. Asking him what he was really doing. And as proves thus far, you can see he was up to no good.”

“There!” Suddenly, one of Stellar’s men was standing at the end of the hallway they were in, holding a gun. “I found ‘em!”

Bullets started splitting through the air, directly towards Papyrus.

“No!” Sans shouted, running towards him. His arms cut through space, stopping everything in its place. He watched as everything slowed down except for him; as the bullets were frozen in air, ever so slowly inching their way to Papyrus.

He quickly ran over to him, pulling him to the side as time resumed.

Bullets whizzed past them and by the time Papyrus hit the floor, Sans was already on his way to the monster with the gun. He shoved his fist into the side of his face and the guy fell to the floor, out cold.

Sans, panting, looked down at his glitching hand… and started to giggle.

He burst out laughing and Papyrus ran over to him, holding onto his shoulders. “Sans? Sans, what’s wrong?”

“This--this is so insane!” He chuckled. “I mean… I can’t believe Gaster was actually right! He actually made a fucking time machine and he found yet another way to make me his fucking _guinea pig_!” He laughed, shaking his head. “It’s just funny…”

“...I fail to see the humor in this.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”

Papyrus hesitantly walked away from him, continuing down the halls until they finally reached a door. He opened it up and gaped up at the ceiling.

There were tears in what seemed like the universe itself all across the rocks above them. In the tears, you could see stars and houses and planets and people and monsters and the sky on the surface… so many different places that were melting into their reality.

“We have to get to the Capital!” Papyrus screeched, gripping Sans’ arm and starting to drag him towards Hotland’s exit. “Quick!”

Sans followed as told, stumbling behind him. He ducked as Stellar’s recruits, who seemed to get the other guy’s warning, started to shoot at them. They made their way safely to the river person’s stop, but they weren’t there.

On a whim, Papyrus turned and kept running, past the boat stop.

“Wait, what about--”

“No time,” Papyrus interrupted. “We’ll go the long way. Wading through there will just get us killed and I doubt River’s going to be there.”

Sans obliged, trailing close behind his brother. He was suddenly so… grown up. Just the other day, he was just the same old lovable Papyrus. Now he had the mentality of a soldier. His back was straightened and his chest was out and he just seemed to know what he was doing.

He really had his shit together this whole time, and Sans was just too blind to see it.

Papyrus stopped abruptly, looking in the direction of someone screaming.

One of the tears full of stars was sucking in the things around it, including the green fire girl Sans had seen earlier.

“I’ll be back!” Papyrus demanded.

“Wait! But we hafta--”

“I can’t just leave her!” And with that he ran off to the side, leaving Sans alone.

He ducked as more bullets came his way, prompting him to start to run. He couldn’t lose Papyrus, but that wouldn’t matter if he was full of holes. He ran and ran, heaving for air, and when he started to fall forward, he spread out his hands, creating a temporary rip that he fell into.

He shouted out, waiting for death, but instead he landed on the floor of Waterfall.

“Did I just… teleport?” He got up, looking around. There were rips and holes all over this part of the Underground too; not that it was very far from Hotland. 

He was shaking like crazy, not that you could tell with all of the glitching going on all over his whole body. He needed to get back to Papyrus.

He started to walk forward, but another portal opened in front of him.

And this time, someone stepped out.

He looked at Sans and he could’ve swore he was looking into a mirror. He looked exactly like him, but he wore a crazy outfit. He had a long brown scarf and glowing boots and acrylic paints draped across him like bullets.

He looked at Sans and he could see in his eye sockets were different, varying shapes.

“Ah, Sans,” he smiled. “I found you!”

“W-what the fuck…” Sans mumbled, stepping back.

“Woah, language,” he huffed, putting his hands on his sides.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Sans!” He chirped. “But you can call me Ink to avoid confusion.”

“Wha--you’re me.” He laughed. “Yeah, of course you are. What, do _I_ need to step into a time machine now?”

“No,” Ink said as if it were obvious. “You… kinda _are_ a time machine,” he smirked.

Sans looked down at his hands. “So, what.” He said, averting his attention back to Ink. “Are you with Stellar?”

Ink cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Huh? Oooooh! You mean that silly little thing?” He giggled. “No. This is _much_ bigger than that.” There was something lingering in his voice that Sans didn’t come to love.

“What do you want.” Sans growled.

“Well, you see,” he put his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth as he talked. “I create universes. That’s kinda my thing. Buuuut, I also fix them!” He stopped, looking at Sans with an eerie smile. “And your kinda… messing everything up.”

“Me?” Sans chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re mistaken, other me--”

“Ink.”

“Ink,” Sans corrected, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t do this, it was Gaster.”

Ink slightly flinched at that name. “I would come to disagree!” He gestured to Sans’ arms. “All of our readings are pointing to you. There’s a tremendous amount of energy coming from you, and only you!” 

“But I didn’t…” Sans sighed. “Look, I can’t do this. I have to find somebody.” As if on cue, Sans noticed as Papyrus hid nearby, starting to walk closer.

“I’m afraid… I can’t let you do that. See,” Ink looked at one of the rips in a field of echo flowers. “You’re messing things up. A lot. If I just let something like that slide?” He chuckled, shrugging. “Well, that makes my job a lot harder.”

Sans didn’t like the way Ink sounded so much like himself.

“Well, I need to get to my bro, so…” Sans glanced behind Ink, watching as Papyrus was sneaking up behind him. He was holding an attack, pointing the blunt side at the clone, ready to knock him out when close enough.

Ink sighed, waving his hand and materializing a paintbrush almost the same size as Sans himself. “I’m afraid I can’t let ya do that.” He tightly gripped the brush, swinging it back, but instead of hitting Sans instead hit Papyrus.

Ink’s eyes widened as a portal opened suddenly from out of the paint soaked into the top of the paintbrush. Papyrus was quickly swept into the tear’s current and it sucked him inside without another word.

“PAPYRUS!” Sans screamed as Ink reached for Papyrus in a panic. His hand barely missed him and he spun around, drifting quickly off into the stars. “You piece of--” He started to run after his brother, but Ink held out his brush, stopping him.

Sans could see the sweat glistening on his forehead as he glanced into the portal. “That… wasn’t in the plan.”

“Well, go get him back!” Sans screeched.

“No!” Ink yelled. “I can’t allow you to go!”

“Then I’ll--” he swung his fist, aiming for Ink’s face, but his arm ripped through the air, making a fresh new cut in the universe. Ink watched in horror as Sans was sucked inside, consumed in deafening darkness.

Sans was helpless as the universe closed around him, leaving him, once again, alone.

**E̷̪͂N̷̦͠D̵̹̿ ̵̺̈́O̶̬͌F̷̙̑ ̵̡͝A̵̛̻C̴̪̑T̸͎͊ ̴̭̉1̴͍̎**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dang it ink
> 
> in case you can't see Zalgo font on your device, the last part says "End of Act 1"
> 
> come feel free to bug me on my tumblr! I would love the support for the next chapter, whenever that may come out....
> 
> https://rainbow-flavoured.tumblr.com/


End file.
